So you're saved, redeemed, and delivered - you're
born-again! Washed in the precious blood, had your
sin forgiven and been made white as snow. You've
been filled with the Spirit, been baptized in
water and become a new creation in Christ Jesus.
You're an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus
Christ. You've been set free, made the
righteousness of God in Christ. You're blessed
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places,
been made to triumph in Christ. You're the head
and not the tail, above only and not beneath and
have been given authority over the devil and his
kingdom. You are free from poverty, sickness and
disease and been given the keys of the kingdom....
"BUT WAIT!!!"
"You don't know what I'm going through, the
struggles that I'm facing, the pressure that I'm
under. I thought becoming a Christian was going to
make life easier, no problems or trials. WHAT'S
HAPPENING!!!"
Try not to get discouraged, it's just time to grow
up. (Oh is that all!) The first thing to remember
is that God really is in control, and the trial
that you are going through is allowed by God so
that you would begin to apply the knowledge and
understanding that you have from the Word of God
and come into a new level of spiritual maturity.
1 Corinthians 10:13 say: "No temptation has
overtaken you except that which is common to man;
but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able, but with the
temptation will also make the way of escape, that
you may be able to bear (endure) it."
I love this scripture, and you ought to be
shouting a great big hallelujah with me! Even
though the devil is telling you that you're going
under and you're not going to make it, this
Scripture puts that lie to rest! God said He will
not allow you to be tested or tempted beyond what
you would be able to bear. In other words, in His
great foreknowledge, God is confident you will be
able to stand through your situation, or He would
not have allowed it to come your way.
He also said in this Scripture that He would
provide a way of escape. One sure way of escape is
always through His Word. Faith or trust in God's
Word works. "Yeah, I tried that faith stuff for a
whole week and nothing happened." HOLD ON NOW!
Faith isn't something that you try, it's something
that you do - it's a lifestyle. In fact, Romans
1:17 tells us that the just (that's us) shall live
by faith. Faith is God's prescribed method for us
(the church) to live by. Faith in God, faith in
His Word.
What we need to realize is that faith has a
partner, and its name is patience. Faith keeps its
course and continues on track because of patience.
Let's see what the word says about this
combination. Hebrews 6:12 states: "That you do not
become sluggish (lazy), but imitate those who
through faith and patience inherit the promises."
James 1:1-2 has this to say about patience; "My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials, knowing that the testing of your
faith produces patience. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and
complete, lacking nothing."
There is another aspect of biblical patience that
is often overlooked. In Luke 21, Jesus is talking
about things to come in the end times, and I might
say He paints a pretty tough picture. Then in
verse 19 He says, "By your patience possess your
souls." The actual Greek reads, "In the patience
of you, you will possess the souls of you."
The Greek word for soul in this scripture
reference is psuche. And basically it describes
our mind, will, intellect and emotions. Hey, isn't
this the part of our make up that gives us the
most problems? I know I have to fight with mine
more than I want to admit. This is also the area
that the enemy attacks us in the most. He knows if
he can get to our emotions or convince our
intellect that the circumstance we're facing in
life is too powerful for us to stand against - we
will make the decision to give up and quit, thus
thwarting our own spiritual growth.
I think we all have seen great displays of emotion
from people who were obviously immature and needed
special attention. And because of where they were
in life, they were not able to take advantage of
the greater blessings that God has to offer,
primarily because their soul was in possession of
them instead of they being in possession of their
soul.
Praise God! Every time we have to enact the force
of patience we should be rejoicing in the fact
that we are taking another step forward in getting
things set in the proper order, that we're gaining
a better grip on our soul! And as it says in
James, that's the road to maturity and
completeness.
By staying in faith and not giving up, we allow
patience to have its perfect work so that we will
become mature and grow up spiritually, knowing how
to apply the Word of God in the face of adversity,
with a firm understanding of who we are in Christ,
knowing with great certainty that He always
watches over His Word to perform it! (Jer. 1:12)
This is the will of God for every believer. We
need to submit to God and His Word, and allow His
plan for our lives to succeed. Let's not short
circuit His plan by refusing to grow up. We've
done it our way long enough, and one thing is for
sure, our way will generally lead to disaster.
The plan for your life is found in John 10:10. He
wants you to have and experience the abundant
life. It's your inheritance. Don't settle for
anything less. Be patient and allow God's maturing
process to take root in you because after all,
Father knows best!
Dan Downey
Abiding In The Healing Word
http://www.savedhealed.com
All Rights Reserved (c)
Dan Downey 2000
